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    <title>Simple symbols</title>
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    <section class="sect1" title="Simple symbols" epub:type="subchapter" id="Simple-symbols">
      <div class="titlepage">
        <div>
          <div>
            <h2 class="title" style="clear: both">Simple symbols</h2>
          </div>
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      </div>
      <p>Simple symbols have no properties other than their name, an immutable string.
They have the useful property that two simple symbols
are identical (in the sense of <code class="literal">eq?</code>, <code class="literal">eqv?</code> and
<code class="literal">equal?</code>) if and only if their names are spelled the same way.  A
symbol literal is formed using <code class="literal">quote</code>.
</p>
      <p class="synopsis" kind="Procedure"><span class="kind">Procedure</span><span class="ignore">: </span><a id="idm139667877702624" class="indexterm"/> <code class="function">symbol?</code> <em class="replaceable"><code><em class="replaceable"><code>obj</code></em></code></em></p>
      <div class="blockquote">
        <blockquote class="blockquote">
          <p>Return <code class="literal">#t</code> if <em class="replaceable"><code>obj</code></em> is a symbol, <code class="literal">#f</code> otherwise.
</p>
          <pre class="screen">(symbol? 'foo)          ⇒ #t
(symbol? (car '(a b)))  ⇒ #t
(symbol? "bar")         ⇒ #f
(symbol? 'nil)          ⇒ #t
(symbol? '())           ⇒ #f
(symbol? #f)            ⇒ #f
</pre>
        </blockquote>
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      <p class="synopsis" kind="Procedure"><span class="kind">Procedure</span><span class="ignore">: </span><a id="idm139667877697264" class="indexterm"/> <code class="function">symbol-&gt;string</code> <em class="replaceable"><code><em class="replaceable"><code>symbol</code></em></code></em></p>
      <div class="blockquote">
        <blockquote class="blockquote">
          <p>Return the name of <em class="replaceable"><code>symbol</code></em> as an immutable string.
</p>
          <pre class="screen">(symbol-&gt;string 'flying-fish)                   ⇒  "flying-fish"
(symbol-&gt;string 'Martin)                        ⇒  "Martin"
(symbol-&gt;string (string-&gt;symbol "Malvina"))     ⇒  "Malvina"
</pre>
        </blockquote>
      </div>
      <p class="synopsis" kind="Procedure"><span class="kind">Procedure</span><span class="ignore">: </span><a id="idm139667877692656" class="indexterm"/> <code class="function">string-&gt;symbol</code> <em class="replaceable"><code><em class="replaceable"><code>string</code></em></code></em></p>
      <div class="blockquote">
        <blockquote class="blockquote">
          <p>Return the symbol whose name is <em class="replaceable"><code>string</code></em>.
</p>
          <pre class="screen">(eq? 'mISSISSIppi 'mississippi)
⇒ #f

(string-&gt;symbol "mISSISSIppi")
⇒ the symbol with name "mISSISSIppi"

(eq? 'bitBlt (string-&gt;symbol "bitBlt"))
⇒ #t

(eq? 'JollyWog (string-&gt;symbol (symbol-&gt;string 'JollyWog)))
⇒ #t

(string=? "K. Harper, M.D."
          (symbol-&gt;string (string-&gt;symbol "K. Harper, M.D.")))
⇒ #t
</pre>
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